Texas family sells Porsche for bitcoins

A father and son from Austin say they've just sold their 2007 Porsche Cayman S for approximately 300 Bitcoins.

That's $39,000 (not including a 0.99 percent processing fee).

Blane, an IT specialist and software engineer, and his father say they sold the car last night to an anonymous buyer who cashed out his Bitcoins using the site Bitpay. (They asked us not to use their last name.)

We stumbled upon their claim in a Bitcoin discussion forum, and were able to reach out to them directly via email.

Blane emailed us two screenshots he says prove the transaction took place:

And the page they'd set up showing the car, as well as a Harley, on offer:

According to Blane, his father created a Cragslist ad for the car a couple of months ago, and there was immediate interest:

... we received a few offers on the way up, one for 1000 bitcoins when they were $26 apiece, and interest really spiked once we started nearing $100 a coin. In the end, we had four potential buyers ready to pick up the car at around 400 BTC, the first user to make their way to Austin got the car.

Reached by phone, Blane's father said the buyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, is a "young businessman" not from Texas who "does a number of things, from construction to running services in the food and beverage industry."

He sent a surrogate to complete the transaction. From Blane:

... all four of us were on the phone, me, father, buyer, and surrogate while he sent the coins. We watched the transaction make its way through the network over a span of about 30 minutes, then he signed a bill of sale and passed on the title.

Blane and his father described the deal as a watershed moment both for themselves and Bitcoin in general. They say they're now considering opening an online business devoted to selling cars for bitcoins.